It’s been a season full of lessons for the Mercy women’s soccer team.
Jack Nicholson, for starters, has learned quite a bit of his own. The first-year head coach was vulnerable to inexperience in his first month overseeing the program but has progressively improved game by game, displaying the enormous potential he has as a young leader.
And for the team itself, who exited September with an unsatisfying 3-3-2 record, they were on the receiving end of their lesson this year too: the season is a lot longer than anticipated.
After working out the early season kinks, Nicholson and the Mavs found their groove. Mercy responded with a dominant 5-1-1 record to close out October, proving to themselves that they are the team they always thought they were.
Mercy finished the regular season in nuclear fashion, winning their last three games. Despite the team erupting for a season-high six goals against Lincoln last week, it seems the relish came in their victory against No. 2 seed Daeman in the season finale.
The Wildcats hadn’t lost a game since the middle of September until the Mavericks defeated them on Saturday. It was a complete team win from top to bottom, giving them some added morale as they enter do-or-die territory.
“It’s huge for us,” Nicholson said after the win. “I told the team, ‘Nothing is won in September.’ We knew we had a home stretch come October and that momentum is carrying now.”
Nicholson has been on the coaching staff for the last five years, winning three ECC titles in his time as an assistant. But even with the elevated role, Nicholson believes his support from previous coaches and his team has eased those nerves in his first season at the helm.
“The preparation is different, the time put in is different, but I have a great support system and group of women who would run through brick walls for me and each other,” Nicholson stated.
Madi Rosa, the senior forward, brought her best against the Wildcats, scoring a career-high two goals in the game. Rosa belongs to an offensive unit that has raised their play over the last three contests, combining for nine goals scored.
Before the match, Daeman ranked No. 2 in the conference in goals allowed with a mere 13, displaying the impressiveness in Mercy’s offensive output on Saturday.
As good as the offense has been, the defense has been just as stout. Kamy Anaya hasn’t allowed a single goal in Mercy’s last three matches, while only having to make three saves combined during that stretch.
Not only is Anaya keeping the ball out of the cage, but the defense in front of her has barely allowed their opponents to even operate. It’s like being in one of those Kurt Angle headlocks. Just absolutely discouraging.
The next obstacle that stands in their way is the D’Youville Saints, a team that Mercy feels they left a lot of meat on the bone when they met in the regular season. The Mavs tied D’Youville, 1-1, in the middle of September, but six weeks ago is a long time for a team to make adjustments. This Mercy team certainly has.
But that’s the road of being a rookie head coach, it’s all about trial and error. It took Nicholson a few weeks before grasping control of the team, and he credits a lot of the team’s recent success to his change in coaching style as the season has progressed.
“There came a point where we were struggling and I thought ‘We have to change things, this is my team now,’” Nicholson admitted.
“You’ve got to learn how to grow with your team. I’m going to make mistakes and so will they, you don’t get better if you don’t.”
The maturity in him is astounding, and it’s to no surprise that he has rallied his team around him in a very little time. Matt Kilcullen made a slam dunk hire this summer, and this program will reap the rewards for many, many years.
Though Mercy will enter this year’s tournament with a young coach leading them, Madi Rosa believes the experience of the team will be more than enough to chase back-to-back championships.
“We’re all so excited,” Rosa said. “After last year, everyone is hungry for another ring,”
“We have a lot of experience on the field and also players who can come off the bench and show us what they got,” she continued.
This crew has an entirely new life to them from two months ago, and though they did not receive a first-round bye, an extra game to stay in a rhythm might just be exactly what they need.
A rematch with the Wildcats hangs in the shadows, but this isn’t the time to look down the road. Mercy underperformed against this D’Youville team earlier in the year, which hasn’t sat well with the program since, and they feel like they have a statement to make.
A win not only keeps their season alive, but avenges a game the team desperately wishes they had back. It’s reached personal territory, and for a team playing as well as anyone in the conference, it might be a death wish for the rest of those competing against them.
Mercy takes on D’Youville in the first round of the ECC Tournament tomorrow at Mercy Field at 1 p.m.
